Snetberger Center uplifts Gypsy kids through music

HUNGARY

Associated Press

Published 4:00 am, Sunday, May 6, 2012

Photo: Bela Szandelszky, Associated Press

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FILE - In this March 14, 2012 file photo, Ferenc Snetberger, guitarist and founder of the Snetberger Music Talent Center teaches in his school in Felsoors, Hungary. Hungarian guitarist Ferenc Snetberger is giving dozens of young Roma musicians a unique opportunity to learn in the Snetberger Music Talent Center. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky, File) less

FILE - In this March 14, 2012 file photo, Ferenc Snetberger, guitarist and founder of the Snetberger Music Talent Center teaches in his school in Felsoors, Hungary. Hungarian guitarist Ferenc Snetberger is ... more

Photo: Bela Szandelszky, Associated Press

Snetberger Center uplifts Gypsy kids through music

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Felsoors, Hungary --

For young Gypsy musicians, it's a unique opportunity to get ahead in life.

Renowned Hungarian jazz guitarist Ferenc Snetberger's music school for Gypsy - also known as Roma - kids is coming to the end of its inaugural year, with about 60 students getting instruction not just in their instruments but also in subjects such as English and computer skills seen as key to building a professional career.

Nearly all of the students at the Snetberger Music Talent Center in Felsoors, a picturesque village among rolling hills on the north side of Lake Balaton, two hours' drive from Budapest, come from underprivileged Roma families.

The integration of the Roma community, estimated at 5 to 8 percent of Hungary's 10 million people, is one of the largest social and economic challenges facing the country. Unemployment among Hungary's Roma ballooned after the 1990 end of communism, which resulted in the close of many mines and factories that provided low-skilled jobs.

The school chose its students mainly through auditions held around the country; most of the teachers are, like Snetberger, also Roma.

"In regular music schools, their real talents and values often go unnoticed," Snetberger said. "That's why I wanted to have mostly Roma for teachers, because they are clear about this and recognize the students' skills.

My main aim is to build on and develop what they bring from home, to open their musical world to new styles they haven't yet known."

One of the most talented musicians attending classes is Elemer Feher, a 20-year-old clarinetist from the city of Godollo, near Budapest. Feher is among the oldest students at the center and has auditioned at conservatories in Germany, where he hopes to continue his studies.

While Feher's first love is classical music, the Snetberger experience is helping him expand his horizons.

"I've really enjoyed playing jazz and folk and other styles which I don't play that often," said Feher, before rehearsing a composition by Argentine tango great Astor Piazzolla.

"This talent school is a fantastic experience in my life. It gives the students many advantages and opportunities we could only dream about."

The idea to teach more than music at the center came from his experiences abroad.

"If you don't speak English, it's hard to communicate and establish relationships," said Snetberger, who hopes to enroll a wide enough range of students to form a chamber orchestra. "You need to be able to manage yourself. It's best they learn this from the beginning."

The center, which includes dormitories, classrooms and a combination dining and performance hall, among other facilities, was built mostly from a grant of $3.6 million from Norway. It was finished last year.

With an annual budget of around $407,000, the endeavor is facing an uncertain future, said Zoltan Meszaros, the center's director.

The center still needs to raise about 20 percent of its 2012 budget target. Like many other projects that rely on EU funds, it soon may be forced to cut expenses or look elsewhere for revenues.

Hungary stands to lose nearly $667 million in EU subsidies - almost 30 percent of the total it receives - unless it can take substantial steps in the next few months to ensure that its budget deficit remains within EU limits.

"If these funds are frozen, then we can close our doors," Snetberger said. "But this is unimaginable to me. The center is something unique in Europe, and we will do everything we can to avoid letting it happen."

Meanwhile, classes are continuing, and the second academic year will begin in June, when around 30 new students will join a similar number from the first year returning for another cycle.

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